JPH08251830A - Battery charger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an excellent battery charger by starting or stopping the charging operation of a battery in an electric or electronic apparatus depending on the power consumption state thereof. CONSTITUTION: A battery charger 50 is inserted in series between power lines L, L' connecting an AC/DC adapter 10 and a notebook computer (PC) 100. The charger 50 comprises a power line 1 connected in parallel with the power line L in order to feed power to a battery 30', a switch SW1 for connecting or disconnecting the power lines L, L', a switch SW2 for connecting or disconnecting the power lines 1, and a charging controller 52 for controlling the operation of the SW2. The charging controller 52 connects the switches SW1, SW2 appropriately by monitoring the physical quantities, e.g. the output current and voltage of the battery 30' and the inner temperature of the battery pack, and the power consumption of a system load 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery charger for a rechargeable battery used in electric / electronic equipment such as a notebook computer, and more particularly to a battery pack built in the main body of electric / electronic equipment. The present invention relates to a battery charger for precharging a battery pack of the same standard. More specifically, the present invention is connectable on a power line extending from a commercial power source to an electric / electronic device, and
The present invention relates to a battery charger that can be transported while being mounted in a battery pack and can prevent a short circuit between battery terminals.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent technological innovation, electric and electronic devices designed and manufactured to be small and light in weight have been widely used in consideration of portable and portable outdoor use. So-called “Notebook Computer” (Notebook Computer:
It is also simply called "PC" or "system". ) Is a good example. Such a portable electric / electronic device is a battery packaged by connecting a plurality of battery cells (that is, a “battery” so that it can be driven even in a place where an external AC power source (generally, commercial power source) cannot be used.・ It is generally possible to include a “pack”). In addition, NiC is used as the battery cell in consideration of reuse.
A rechargeable type such as d, NiMH, Li-Ion is often used. The battery pack may be charged by a dedicated AC charger, or may be charged while the DC / charger is built in the main body of the electric / electronic device and the battery pack is mounted.

FIG. 11 (a) shows a general notebook.
The power supply system of the computer 100 is schematically shown. In the figure, the PC 100 inputs the output terminal of the AC / DC adapter 10 that has converted the AC voltage from the external power source into the DC voltage and the output terminal of the built-in battery pack 30 in parallel, and It can be driven by the power supply of. Then, the DC voltage supplied from each of the power sources 10 and 30 drops to a voltage level suitable for driving an electric circuit in the system 100 in the DC / DC converter 20, and then to each part in the system load 40. It is supposed to be distributed. Here, the system load 40 means various I / O such as electric circuits (CPU, main memory, peripheral controller, etc.) on the system board arranged in the housing of the PC 100, and hard disk drives. Refers to devices. The battery 3
The charging of 0 is performed by opening / closing the switch SW inserted on the power line according to the operating state of the system load 40, and
This is done by using the surplus power of the DC adapter 10 as the charging current of the battery 30.

Battery packs used in currently marketed notebook computers are, for example, 8
Two battery cells connected in series are configured in parallel. When a battery pack consisting of 2 parallels and 8 series is fully charged, the capacity is about 3.6 AH, which is only about 2 hours when converted into the operation time of the notebook computer. Therefore, some users not only put one battery pack in the PC 100, but also carry a battery pack of the same standard together as a spare part (that is, a spare).

By the way, when a user carries a spare battery pack, the following two problems are expected to occur.

(1) The first problem is a short circuit between the electrodes of the battery pack. In many battery packs, several types of output terminals including a positive electrode and a negative electrode are arranged side by side on one side surface of the housing so as to be exposed to the outside. Therefore, such a battery pack
If the product is accidentally or cluttered and thrown into the bag, other conductive foreign substances (such as clips) in the bag may come into contact with the positive and negative electrodes while being carried and shaken by the user. The electric power will be tied up, and as a result, useless electric power may be wasted, which in turn may cause heating and a fire. If the battery pack is carried inside the notebook computer, the insulation between the electrodes can be maintained by turning off the power of the device itself. However, when carrying the battery pack naked, a short circuit between the electrodes can occur relatively easily. Those skilled in the art can easily infer the possibility of a short circuit accident between the electrodes of the battery.

(2) The second problem is the charging operation of the spare battery pack. The spare battery pack is for supplementing the short life of the battery pack 30 incorporated in the system 100, and is preferably kept in a fully charged state (or a state close to a fully charged state) at all times. In the case of the main battery pack 30, the charge control inside the notebook computer allows the AC
The surplus power of the / DC adapter 10 can be used for charging. That is, the user only has to plug the AC / DC adapter 10 into the notebook computer,
The system 100 automatically charges the built-in battery pack 30 (well known). On the other hand, in the case of the spare battery pack, since it is physically separated from the main body of the system 100, the system 100 cannot take care of charging. Dedicated charging devices are already widely known and it is technically possible to use them to charge spare battery packs. However, in addition to the PC main body, the AC / DC adapter, and the spare battery pack, if a charging device has to be carried around, a notebook computer that features portability may be significantly less attractive. In particular, a dedicated charging device generally has a built-in circuit for AC-DC conversion (for example, a transformer coil or a rectifying / smoothing circuit), and the size of the charging device is relatively large. It will make your bag bigger. Also,
When the user uses the notebook computer at a hotel or the like on a business trip destination, in addition to the wiring of AC / DC adapter → PC main body 100 (see FIG. 11 (a)),
Another wiring as shown in (b) will be required. Providing two lines of wiring in this way is troublesome for the user. In addition, it is not smart because it makes the user aware that the spare battery pack is being charged. AC / DC adapter → PC main unit 1
It can be said that it is desirable to embed the charging mechanism of the spare battery pack in the original power supply system of 00 to make it one.

In summary, when using a spare battery pack, first of all, safety during transportation (insulation between electrodes, etc.) must be ensured. And the second
First, a power supply system must be secured to charge the spare battery pack.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent battery charger for rechargeable batteries used to drive electrical and electronic equipment.

A further object of the present invention is to charge a battery which can be connected on a power line extending from a commercial power source to an electric / electronic device and can be carried while being mounted in a battery pack and can prevent a short circuit between battery electrodes. To provide a device.

[0011]

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and a first aspect thereof is to serially connect a power line connecting an external power source and an electric / electronic device to each other. A connectable battery charger, comprising:
It is a battery charging device characterized by monitoring a power consumption state of an electronic device and controlling start / stop of charging of a battery according to the power consumption state.

A second aspect of the present invention is AC / DC.
A battery charging device in which an adapter can be connected in series on a power line for supplying a drive current to an electric / electronic device, the electric power consuming state of the electric / electronic device is monitored, and the electric power consuming state of It is a battery charging device characterized by starting or stopping charging of a battery.

A third aspect of the present invention is a battery charger which can be connected in series on a power line connecting an external power source and an electric / electronic device, and monitors the operation mode of the electric / electronic device. Then, the battery charging device is characterized in that the start / stop of charging of the battery is controlled according to the operation mode.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is AC / DC.
A battery charging device in which an adapter can be connected in series on a power line for supplying a drive current to an electric / electronic device, the operating mode of the electric / electronic device is monitored, and a battery charging device according to the operating mode is used. A battery charging device characterized by starting or stopping charging.

In the battery chargers according to the third and fourth aspects, the electric / electronic device is suspended.
d: The spare battery is charged using a state in which there is no power consumption at all, such as a transition to an operation mode in which power consumption is extremely low (details will be described later), or the system is powered off.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is AC / DC.
A battery charging device in which an adapter can be connected in series on a first power line to supply a driving current to an electric / electronic device, and a first switch for connecting / disconnecting the first power line, A second power line connected in parallel to the first power line for supplying at least a part of the drive current as a charging current to a battery, and a second power line for connecting / disconnecting the second power line. A battery charging device comprising: a switch; and a charge controller for controlling opening / closing operations of the first and second switches.

In the battery charger according to the fifth aspect, the charge controller selectively connects only one of the first and second switches,
Either electric power supply to electric / electronic devices or battery charging is selected.

The charge controller monitors the power consumption state or operation mode of the electric / electronic device, and measures the charge state from detected values such as the voltage, current, and temperature of the battery to determine the first and the first. The opening / closing operation of the second switch can be controlled. That is, when the electric / electronic device is in a normal operation mode or the battery is in a fully charged state (or a state close to a fully charged state), the first switch is connected and the second switch is turned on. You can separate it. On the contrary, when the electric / electronic device is in the low power consumption mode or the power is off and the battery is not fully charged, the first
The second switch may be connected while the second switch is disconnected. If the electric / electronic device has a battery and its charger built-in, the first switch may be connected and the second switch may be disconnected while the built-in battery is being charged. .
In short, the battery charging device according to the present invention prioritizes power supply to electric / electronic devices.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the configuration of the battery charger according to the fifth aspect. In the figure, the battery charger 50 includes an AC / DC adapter 10 and a PC 1.
It is inserted in series between the power lines L and L'that connect with 00. The charging device 50 can be equipped with a spare battery 30 ′ having the same standard as the battery 30 built in the PC 100. The inside of the charging device 50 has a power line l connected in parallel to the power line L for supplying power to the battery 30 '.
A switch SW1 for connecting / disconnecting the power lines L, L ', a switch SW2 for connecting / disconnecting the power line l, and a charge controller 52 for controlling the opening / closing operation of SW1, SW2. . The charge controller is a physical quantity such as the output current and output voltage of the battery 30 ', the internal temperature of the battery pack, and the system load
By monitoring the power consumption state of SW1,
SW2 is selectively connected.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is AC / DC.
An adapter is a battery charger capable of being connected in series on a first power line for supplying a drive current to an electric / electronic device, the adapter being connected in parallel to the first power line to supply the drive current to a battery. A second power line for supplying to
A switch for connecting / disconnecting the second power line, and a switch for controlling the opening / closing operation of the switch by monitoring the current / voltage on the first power line and the current / voltage / temperature of the battery. A charge controller,
A battery charger comprising:

The charge controller may determine whether the current on the first power line is below the minimum allowable charge current of the battery,
The switch is turned on while the power supplied from the first power line is lower than the power required for the operation of the electric / electronic device or the battery is in a fully charged state (or a state close to a fully charged state). The switch may be disconnected and the switch may be connected only during the other period.
In this case as well, similar to the battery charging device according to the fifth aspect, it is possible to use the electric power rather than the charged spare battery.
Power supply to electronic devices is prioritized.

Since the battery charger according to the present invention can be inserted in series between the power lines connecting the AC / DC adapter and the electric / electronic equipment, the wiring is not troublesome for the user. Further, the spare battery can be naturally charged only by inserting the battery charger between the power cords extending from the AC power source.

Further, since the charging is performed only during the period when the electric power consumption of the electric / electronic equipment is small, it does not affect the operation of the system.

Further, the battery charger does not include a circuit for AC / DC conversion. That is, since it does not need to include a transformer coil and a rectifying / smoothing circuit, it is smaller and lighter than a conventional dedicated charger with an AC function, and is suitable for carrying.

Further, the battery charger can be designed and manufactured to have a structure in which only a part of the surface of the battery pack including the terminal portion is covered. In this case, if the spare battery pack is carried while being attached to the battery charger, the bag does not need to be bulky and the terminal portion of the battery is protected, and the electrode caused by contact with foreign matter is prevented. It is possible to suitably prevent a short-circuit accident between the two.

Further, even when the battery charging device is connected to the power line between the AC / DC adapter and the electric / electronic equipment, the supply of the charging current is always stopped when the battery is not installed. It is supposed to do. Therefore, there is no fear of electric leakage from the connector of the battery charger.

The charging device according to the present invention is greatly different from the conventional quick charger with an AC adapter function and the DC quick charger using a DC voltage built into an electric / electronic device in terms of structure and function. In order to distinguish them from the existing chargers, the battery charger according to the present invention will be referred to as a Travel Quick Charger.
er). Quoting the word "travel" is convenient for users to carry along with their notebook computer when traveling on a business trip.
Please understand that the development intent is included. When the user uses the notebook computer with AC power in the hotel room where he / she is staying,
C / DC Adapter → Travel Quick Charger →
The notebook computers should be connected in series in that order. You can also carry a spare battery pack with it attached to the Travel Quick Charger while traveling to your next destination.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are as follows.
It will be apparent from a more detailed description based on embodiments of the present invention described below and the accompanying drawings.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described in terms of the following items for the sake of convenience. A. First embodiment of the present invention A-1. Appearance of Travel Quick Charger A-2. Hardware configuration of travel quick charger A-3. Computer that can use Travel Quick Charger A-4. Travel Quick Charger Operation A-5. Application example B. Second Embodiment of the Invention C. Third embodiment of the present invention C-1. Hardware configuration of travel quick charger C-2. Travel Quick Charger Operation D. Supplement

A. First Embodiment A-1. Appearance of Travel Quick Charger FIG. 2 shows an appearance of a travel quick charger 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure,
The travel quick charger 50 has a connector portion 11 for receiving a terminal of a power cord L extending from the AC / DC adapter 10 on one side surface, and a personal computer (PC) 100 from the other side surface.
A power cord L ′ for connecting to the main body extends and is connected at the connector portion 51. Since the terminals 11 and 51 of the power cords L and L'are made to the same standard,
When the quick charger 50 is not used, the AC / DC adapter 10 can be directly inserted into the PC 100 by passing through. The travel quick charger 50 shown in FIG. 2 is formed integrally with a power cord L ′ for connecting with the PC 100.
The power cord L'may be designed and manufactured as a detachable separate body. When removable, there is an advantage that the footprint of the travel quick charger 50 can be further reduced. Further, when integrated, there is an advantage that only the power cord L'is not lost.

The main body of the travel quick charger 50 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the battery pack 3 is provided on the front surface.
It has an opening for receiving 0 '. The battery pack 30 'that can be mounted on the travel quick charger 50 is a battery pack built in the PC 100 main body.
It is made of the same standard as the pack 30, and has a secondary character for supplementing the charge capacity of the battery pack 30, that is, a character as a spare. A connector portion 31 (not shown in FIG. 2) connectable to the positive electrode side terminal, the negative electrode side terminal of the battery pack 30 ′, and the temperature detection control terminal (described later) is provided on the bottom surface of the opening. It is arranged. Inside the housing of the Travel Quick Charger 50, A
It includes various circuits for appropriately allocating the output current of the C / DC adapter 10 to drive the PC 100 or charge the battery pack 30 '(details will be described later). However, as shown in FIG. 2, an AC / DC adapter 10 (that is, a circuit for converting an AC voltage into a DC voltage)
It is formed separately from. In addition, two LEDs 59 are provided on the upper surface of the travel quick charger 50 housing.
a and 59b are provided. 59a is for displaying that the current is supplied to the travel quick charger 50 (from the AC / DC adapter 10), and 59b is for displaying the charging status by the emission color or blinking. belongs to.

The travel quick charger 50 is
It does not include a circuit for AC-DC conversion (for example, a transformer coil or a rectifying / smoothing circuit). Therefore, the volume is reduced by that amount, and the size can be reduced. Moreover, if the power cords L and L'connected to both side surfaces are removed,
The Travel Quick Charger 50 has a smaller footprint. Therefore, when carrying, the travel quick charger 50 with the battery pack 30 'attached thereto is a relatively small and simple rectangular parallelepiped, and therefore does not become bulky in the user's bag. Also, Travel Quick Charger 50 is battery pack 3
This covers a part of the surface including the 0'terminal portion. Therefore, even if the user swings in the bag of the user and comes into contact with a conductive foreign substance (eg, a clip) during transportation, a short circuit between the electrodes of the battery pack 30 ′ can be prevented.

In addition, when the user makes an AC at a business trip destination hotel, etc.
AC / D when using PC100 with power supply
If the travel quick charger 50 is inserted in series between the power lines L and L'connecting the C adapter 10 and the PC 100, the battery pack 30 built in the main body can be obtained.
Besides, the secondary battery 30 'can be charged. The serial connection of the travel quick charger 50 has advantages such as a simple wiring structure, the power cords are not easily entangled with each other, and the user does not have to be aware of it while using the PC 100.

Then, the next day, even when the user goes to a place where the AC power source does not reach and uses the PC 100 for a long time (that is, the life of one battery pack or more), the battery pack built in the main body is used. In addition to 30, a spare battery pack 30 'can be used.

A-2. Travel quick charger
Hardware Configuration of FIG. 3 shows the general configuration of the internal circuit of the travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment, together with the AC / DC adapter 10, the PC main body 100, and the attached battery pack 30 ′. ing.

The battery pack 30 'has the same structure as the battery 30 built in the PC 100, and includes a battery cell section 32 and a thermistor Th. The battery cell unit 32 is a component for actually accumulating electric charges, and usually a plurality of battery cells are included in one pack.
Contains cells. The thermistor Th is an electric element whose electric resistance changes with temperature and is provided to detect the internal temperature of the battery pack 30 '(described later). The battery pack 30 'has a terminal 31
It is provided with a, b, c, and d, and can be detachably connected to the corresponding connector portion of the trip charge 50 via these terminals. Reference numerals 31a and 31b correspond to the positive electrode side terminal and the negative electrode side terminal of the battery cell section 32, respectively. Further, 31c is one end of the thermistor Th. Further, 31d is a terminal for detecting attachment of the battery pack 30 '. The other ends of the terminals 31c and 31d are both connected to the negative electrode side terminal 31b, and are grounded to the GND when mounted on the travel quick charger 50.

The travel quick charger 50 is
AC / DC adapter 10 with power cords L and L '
And the PC 100 are connected in series, and the AC / DC adapter 10 is a connector portion 11 and the PC 100 is a connector portion 51, which are detachable. Each power cord L, L ′ is composed of two power lines 61, 62 and one control signal line 63.

The power line 61 is for supplying the output current of the AC / DC adapter 10 as a drive current of the PC 100, and it comes out from the positive terminal 11a of the AC / DC adapter 10 and serves as a switch SW1 and a diode for preventing backflow. 6
It is put into the DC / DC converter 20 in the PC 100 via the PC 4. Further, the power line 61 is branched at a point P to form a power line 61 '. The power line 61 ′ is for supplying a charging current to the battery cell section 32, and is inserted into the positive electrode side terminal 31 a of the battery cell section 32 via the switch SW 2 and the backflow prevention diode 56. The switches SW1 and SW2 selectively connect only one of the power lines 61 and 61 'in order to use the output current of the AC / DC adapter as either the drive current of the PC 100 or the charging current to the battery cell section 32. It is an element for. The opening / closing operation of SW1 and SW2 is controlled by the charge controller 52 (described later). In this embodiment, S
Although both W1 and SW2 are MOS FET switches, they may be elements (for example, bipolar transistors) that operate equivalently.

The power line 62 is grounded to the GND in the PC 100, is put in the negative terminal 11b of the AC / DC adapter 10, and is branched at the point Q to become the power line 62 '. It is also put in the negative electrode side terminal 31b.

The control signal lines 63 and 63 'are used to change the operation mode of the system load 40 (for example, the system 10).
0 is a transition to a low power consumption mode such as "suspend")
Is for detecting (described later).

The travel quick charger 50 is
Inside it, the charge controller 52 and the switch SW
1, SW2 (described above), the regulator circuit 53, the electric resistance R ₁ and the differential amplifier 54 for detecting the output current of the battery cell section 32, and the internal temperature of the battery pack 30 ′. Electrical resistance R ₂ and battery
Electric resistance R for detecting the output terminal voltage of the cell section 32
₃ and R ₄ , R ₅ for detecting whether or not the battery pack 30 ′ is attached, and electrical resistances R ₆ , R ₇ for detecting the voltage level of the power line 61.

The resistor R ₁ is a resistor with a low power consumption of about 20 mΩ and is inserted in series with the negative terminal of the battery cell section 32 to drop the voltage corresponding to the current. . The differential amplifier 54 has both ends of the resistor R ₁ inserted into the non-inverting side and the inverting side input terminals, respectively, and amplifies and outputs the voltage drop at R ₁ .
The charge controller 52 includes an analog-digital converter (hereinafter referred to as an AD converter) (not shown), and an analog output of the differential amplifier 54 is input terminal AD1.
Battery pack 3
It is designed to be fetched as current data of 0 '.

R ₃ and R ₄ connected in series are for dividing the output terminal voltage of the battery pack 30 ′ and extracting it, and one end thereof is the negative terminal (that is, GND) of the battery cell section 32. And the other end is connected to the positive electrode side terminal of the battery cell portion 32. That is, the voltage level at the point Q is the battery pack 3
That is, it corresponds to the output voltage of 0 '. The charge controller 52 includes an AD converter (not shown), and puts the point Q into the input terminal AD2, digitizes the point Q, and takes in the voltage data.

The resistor R ₂ has one end connected in series with the thermistor Th via a terminal 31c, and
The other end is pulled up by a power supply voltage V _DD output by a regulator circuit 53 (described later). Thermistor T
The resistance value of h changes according to the internal temperature of the battery cell section 32, and the potential of the point S divided by Th and R ₂ also changes accordingly. The charge controller 52 is equipped with an AD converter (not shown), and puts the point S into the input terminal AD3 and digitizes the point S to take it in as temperature data.

The resistor R ₅ has one end coupled to the terminal 31d and the other end pulled up by a power supply voltage V _DD output from a regulator circuit 53 (described later). In the battery pack 30 ', the terminal 31d is
Since the battery cell 30 'is connected to the negative terminal of the battery cell section 32, the terminal 31d is grounded when the battery pack 30' is attached to the travel quick charger 50. Therefore, the voltage level of the terminal 31d is pulled down to a low level in the battery pack 30 'when the battery pack 30' is attached, but becomes low when the battery pack 30 'is removed. It will be pulled up to V _DD and pulled up to a high level. The charge controller 52 connects the terminal 31d to the point X.
It is possible to detect whether or not the battery pack 30 ′ is attached by branching at the input terminal BAT. However, the voltage level of the terminal 31c in which one end of the thermistor Th is inserted changes depending on whether or not the battery pack 30 'is attached, so that the terminal 31c can also be used for detecting the battery pack 30'.
In this case, it is not always necessary to provide the terminal 31d.

The resistors R ₆ and R ₇ connected in series are for dividing and extracting the voltage level on the power line 61, and between the point U on the power line 61 and the point Y on the power line 62 '. Has been inserted. The charge controller 52 is provided with an AD converter (not shown), puts the intermediate point Z of both resistors into the input terminal AD4, and digitizes it. The voltage level of the power line 61 is PC100.
Varies greatly depending on whether the internal battery pack 30 is being charged. Because the output terminal voltage of the AC / DC adapter becomes a constant voltage (for example, 20V) which is sufficiently higher than the output terminal voltage of the battery pack 30 while the battery pack 30 is not charged, but it is being charged. Is short-circuited to the output terminal of the battery pack 30 to have a relatively low voltage (for example, 10 V). Therefore, the charge controller 52 can determine whether the PC 100 is charging the built-in battery pack 30 by monitoring the voltage data at the point Z.

The regulator circuit 53 is a circuit for stably supplying a drive voltage to the charge controller 52, receives a part of the supply current from the AC / DC adapter 10 at a point T on the power line 61, and The output is put into the power supply terminal V _DD of the charge controller 52. Also,
The charge controller 52 connects the power line 62 ′ to the ground terminal GN.
I put it in D.

The charge controller 52 includes a processor for executing calculations, a RAM for the processor to use as a work area, and a ROM for storing programs.
It includes an AD converter (described above) and the like.

The charge controller 52 has AD1, AD2, AD3, AD4, BAT, and D _in as input terminals. The input terminals AD1, AD2, AD3 are for receiving each of the current data, the voltage data, and the temperature data of the battery pack 30 '(described above), and the charging end timing of the battery pack 30' is determined by these input data. Can be detected (described later). The input terminal AD4 is for detecting the voltage level of the power line 61, and by this input, it is possible to determine whether or not the built-in battery pack 30 is being charged in the PC 100 (described above). Also, the input terminal BAT
Is for detecting whether or not the battery pack 30 'is attached (described above). The input terminal D _in is a PC
It is for receiving the control signal line 63 from 100. The PC 100 keeps the control signal 63 in the OPEN state while the power is off or in the low power consumption mode, and grounds the control signal 63 to GND during normal operation (described later). Therefore, the charge controller 52
Internally, D _in is pulled up by the drive voltage V _DD , and the operation mode of the PC 100 can be detected according to the low / high level of the signal.

The charge controller 52 also has S1, S2 and D _out as output terminals. Output terminal S
Reference numerals 1 and S2 are for controlling the opening and closing operations of the FET switches SW1 and SW2, and are inserted in the gate terminals of the FETs. Then, the charge controller 52 comprehensively determines from the power consumption state (or operation mode) of the system 100 and the charge state of the battery pack 30 ′, and performs the opening / closing operation of SW1 and SW2, thereby
Supply of drive current to C100 or battery pack 3
The supply / interruption of the charging current to 0'can be controlled (for details, see section A-4). Further, the charge controller 52 always turns off SW2 when it detects that the battery pack 30 'is not attached, based on the input data from the terminal BAT. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the supply current to the PC 100 from leaking from the terminal 31a and from short-circuiting the electrodes due to contact with foreign matter. Further, the output terminal D _out produces a signal equivalent to the input D _in (that is, OPEN or GND), and the AC / DC adapter 1 is supplied via the control signal 63 ′.
To pass through to zero. However, if the AC / DC adapter 10 to be used does not need information on the operation mode of the PC 100, it is not necessary to output D _out (described later).

The charge controller 52 indicates whether the battery pack 30 'is being charged or has been charged.
59a and 59b (described above). However, displaying the operating state and the like on the LED 59 is well known per se, and since it is not related to the gist of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

A-3. Travel quick charger
Available system environment

A-3-1. Computer Figure 4 shows the Travel Quick described in A-2 above.
The hardware configuration of the computer 100 that can use the charger 50 is shown in more detail than FIG. In the figure, the PC 100 is connected to the power cords L and L '
It is connected to the C / DC adapter 10. In the figure, the power cords L and L'are interrupted by disconnections AA 'and BB', but if necessary, a travel quick charger 50 may be provided between AA 'and BB'. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that can be inserted or shorted. The PC 100 has a backflow prevention diode 64.
The power line 61 is inserted into the DC / DC converter 20 via the power line 61 and is driven by the current supplied from the AC / DC adapter 10 or the battery 30 (well known).

In the PC 100, the main processor (CPU) 72 has an operating system (O).
Run the application program under control of S). The main processor 72 is a common signal transmission line (bus) composed of address signals, data signals, control signals, etc.
It communicates with each section through 71. Hereinafter, each part will be described.

The main memory 73 is a volatile memory (RAM) for loading each program and used by the main processor 72 as a work area. R
The OM 74 is a non-volatile memory for encoding a program (POST) at startup and a hardware control program (BIOS) and storing the code permanently. DMA
The controller 75 is a dedicated processor for transferring data between the main memory 73 and peripheral devices without the intervention of the main processor 72. The interrupt controller 76 is a processor for constantly monitoring the bus 71 and notifying the main processor 72 of a software interrupt when a software interrupt occurs. The video controller 77 is a processor for processing a drawing command from the main processor 72, the VRAM 78 is a memory for temporarily storing drawing information being processed, and the LCD (liquid crystal display) 79 is a content of the VRAM 78. Is a device for displaying according to. The audio controller 80 is a processor for processing input / output of a voice signal,
For example, the amplifier 81 can amplify the audio signal and output the audio from the speaker 82. The HDD 83 and the FDD 85 are auxiliary storage devices. The FDC 84 is a controller for driving the FDD 85. The I / O controller 86 is a controller for performing serial input / output and parallel input / output of data via the serial port 87 and the parallel port 88. The system 100 also includes a keyboard 90 and a mouse 91 for the user to input. 92
Is a power switch for turning on the power of the entire system 100. Reference numeral 93 is a switch for detecting the opening / closing operation of the lid integrally formed with the LCD as an electric signal.

Reference numerals 71 to 88 and 90 to 93
The blocks shown in are the well-known ones generally provided in personal computers. Further, those skilled in the art can understand that other well-known hardware components and interface circuits are required to configure the computer, but they are omitted in this specification for convenience of description. Let's do it.

The PC 100 used in the first embodiment has a low power consumption (Power Management) function. Low power consumption function means system load 4
It is a function to reduce power consumption by cutting off the power supply to each part during 0.
It is used in many portable electric and electronic devices, including personal computers sold by M Corporation. The best example of the low power consumption mode is "Suspend (S
"uspend)". Here, suspend is literally a suspension of application execution. More specifically, when a predetermined event ^* occurs during execution of an application program, the application is suspended at the same time. After saving the data ^** necessary for resuming execution in the main memory, the power supply to almost all circuits other than the main memory is stopped.

The PC 100 used in the first embodiment is further provided with a power management processor 89 in addition to the above-mentioned hardware components in order to preferably realize such a low power consumption function. Power management processor 89
Is designed to support the main processor 72 with respect to managing the power supply to the system load 40 and transitioning the operating modes of the system 100.

One function of the power management processor 89 is to
Input data such as current, voltage, temperature, etc. from the built-in battery pack 30 and monitor the charging state and discharging state,
By opening and closing the FET switch 95, charging of the built-in battery 30 is controlled.

Another function of the power management processor 89 is to notify the main processor 72 of occurrence of a predetermined event ^* to transition to the suspend mode. That is, the power management processor 89 monitors the input matrix of the keyboard 90, the coordinate instruction of the mouse 91, the lid (LID) 93 of the notebook computer, and the voltage of the battery 30 to confirm that a predetermined event ^* has occurred. When detected, a software interrupt is generated on the bus 71. When the interrupt controller 76 detects a software interrupt, the main controller 7
Notify 2. When the main processor 72 learns that the cause of the software interrupt is the power management processor 89, it suspends the execution of the application and saves the data ^** necessary for restarting the application in the main memory 73. A command for shutting off the power source other than the main memory 73 is sent to 89. Then, the power management processor 89 opens the FET switch 94 to stop the power supply from the DC / DC converter 20, thereby cutting off power supplies other than the main memory 73. With such a series of operations, the PC 100 can transit to the suspend mode.

The power management processor 89 sets the control signal 63 to the OPEN state while the power is off or in the suspend mode (that is, in the state where power is not supplied), while
The control signal 63 is grounded to GND during normal operation. The charge controller 52 described above inputs the control signal terminal 63 and pulls up internally (not shown). Therefore, when the PC 100 is in operation, the input D _in becomes low level, and conversely, when the power is off or suspended, D _in becomes high level.
Means that the operation mode of the PC 100 can be monitored (described above).

A series of processing programs for making transitions to the suspend mode and returning from the suspend mode are coded and stored in the ROM 74, for example.

The suspend function and the power management processor itself are already well known (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 04-54955 assigned by the present applicant (our reference number JA9).
-92-004) and Japanese Patent Application No. 04-246338 (our reference number JA9-92-029) describes such a power management processor, and is also commercially available from IBM Japan, Ltd. A notebook computer "ThinkPad 700C" that includes a control chip equivalent to the power management processor 89). In short, the hardware configuration itself of the PC 100 to which the travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment can be applied is not new.

However, it should be particularly noted that the PC 100
However, when (1) a predetermined event occurs, it transits to the low power consumption mode. (2) It has two points that it can output a signal to notify that it has transited to the low power consumption mode. Travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment
Is a prerequisite for applying.

*: The predetermined event for the system 100 to transit to the suspend mode is, for example, the input of a hot key (or a predetermined key combination) in which the user does not perform an input operation for a predetermined time or more. ,notebook·
For example, the lid (LID) 93 of the computer is closed, or the voltage of the battery 30 drops below a predetermined value while the battery 30 is being driven. **: Data required to resume execution of the application from suspend mode is, for example, VRAM
Contents, I / O setting status, CPU status, and the like. Note that the operation that resumes execution of an application after returning from suspend mode is called "Resume (Resume
sume) ”.

A-3-2. AC / DC Adapter On the other hand, the AC / DC adapter 10 is for converting an external AC voltage into a DC voltage and supplying the DC voltage.
It has an output characteristic of CV-CW-CC. Here, CV is a constant voltage output (Constant Vol
CW, and CW is a constant power output (Con
C. is a constant current, and CC is a constant current output (Constant Current). FIG. 5 shows the terminal 1 of the AC / DC adapter 10.
The output (IV) characteristic in 1a is illustrated.

For example, while the PC 100 is not charging the built-in battery pack 30, the AC / DC adapter 10
Operates in a CV region of a relatively high voltage, and changes the output current I in accordance with the power cost supplied to the system load 40. In addition, built-in battery pack 3
When charging 0, terminal 11a is also held low due to the terminal voltage of battery pack 30. Since the battery is traditionally charged with a constant current, the AC / DC adapter 10 operates in the CC region during charging, the charging process of the built-in battery pack 30 proceeds, and the terminal voltage is The output voltage V is changed according to the increase.

As shown in FIG. 5, the AC / DC adapter 10 of this example supports two types of CW and CC areas, that is, mode I and mode II. Mode I is a mode for charging the battery 30 at the time of power-off or suspend, and in order to protect the battery 30 from an overcharge current, CC operation is performed at a relatively low current value (CC ₁ ). There is. Mode II is PC10
0 is a mode for charging the battery 30 during operation, and in order to supply the system load 40 with sufficient power and then to supply the surplus power to charge the battery 30,
The CC operation is performed at a relatively high current value (CC ₂ ). The AC / DC adapter 10 has a terminal 1
By receiving the control signal line 63 'from 1c, it is possible to determine whether to operate in mode I or mode II.

The AC / DC adapter 10 described above is already known (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 04-246338 assigned to the present applicant (our reference number JA9-9).
2-029) discloses a similar AC / DC adapter, and "T" sold by IBM Japan, Ltd.
A similar AC / DC adapter is provided for the "hinkPad 700C"), and detailed description of the internal circuit and the like will not be given here. However, the AC / DC adapter 10 described above is only an example applicable to the travel quick charger 50, and the present invention is not limited to this.

In addition, the AC / DC adapter does not need to support the two output modes as described above, but the first
It is applicable to the travel quick charger 50 according to the embodiment (in this case, the control signal line 63 is not used). In short, the AC / DC adapter
Those skilled in the art will understand that the travel quick charger 50 is applicable as long as it has an output characteristic for charging a battery such as CVCC or CVCW.

A-4. Travel quick charger
Operation up to the preceding paragraph, the travel quick according to the first embodiment
Charger 50 and PC 100 to which it is applied, AC /
Having described the configuration of the DC adapter 10, this section will describe the operation of the travel quick charger 50. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the charge control operation of the battery 30 'by the travel quick charger 50. Hereinafter, each step will be described in detail.

First, in step S8, SW1 is turned on and SW2 is turned off. Please understand that this is the initial state of the travel quick charger 50. Because the terminal 31 is not attached when the battery pack 30 'is not attached.
This is because it is possible to prevent leakage from a.

Then, in step S10, travel /
The quick charger 50 determines whether or not the battery pack 30 'is mounted. This determination can be made by the charge controller 52 examining the input from the terminal BAT (described above). If the result of this determination block is affirmative, the process proceeds through branch Yes to the next step S12.
Proceed to. On the contrary, if the result is negative, the process returns to step S8 via branch No and waits until the situation changes.

Next, in step S12, the PC 100
Determines whether the built-in battery pack 30 is being charged. This determination can be made by the charge controller 52 examining the input from the terminal AD4 (described above). If the result of this decision block is negative, branch No.
After that, the process proceeds to the next step S14. On the contrary, if the result is affirmative, the process returns to step S8 via branch Yes, and waits until the situation changes.

Next, in step S14, the PC 100
During normal operation, suspend mode or power off. This determination can be made by the charge controller 52 examining the control signal 63 output by the power management processor 89 (described above). If it is during normal operation (control signal 63 is in the GND state), the process returns to step S8 via branch Yes, and waits until the situation changes. If in suspend mode or power is off (control signal 63 is OPEN), branch No.
After that, the process proceeds to the next step S16.

The result No in the determination block S14 is PC
100 does not require a power supply and therefore A
This means that the output of the C / DC adapter 10 can be used to charge the spare battery pack 30 '. Therefore,
In step S16, the charging controller 52 sets SW1
Is turned off and SW2 is turned on.

Then, in step S18, the battery
Full charge of pack 30 ' ^*** (or near full charge)
Determine whether or not. Whether or not the battery is fully charged is determined by the charge controller 52 using the current data input from AD1,
This is performed based on the voltage data input from AD2, the temperature data input from AD3, and the like. If it is fully charged (or a state close to full charge), the process proceeds to the next step 20 via a branch No. If not fully charged, SW1, SW2
While maintaining the state of and continuing charging, step S
Returning to 10, other determination blocks S10, S12, S14
At the same time, it also monitors whether the state in has changed. Then, if there is a change in the result of each determination block (for example, the system 100 resumes operation, or the battery pack 30 'is removed during charging), the process returns to step S8, the SW2 is turned off, and charging is performed. To suspend.

Step S20 corresponds to the termination process of the charge control operation. That is, the switch SW1 is turned on and the switch SW2 is turned off, and the series of processing flows is ended.

It should be noted that such a charging control operation is actually executed by the charging controller 52 according to a program incorporated therein.

***: The conditions for termination of charging differ depending on the type of battery cell. For example, in the case of a NiMH battery, the battery cell 32 is charged when the internal temperature T of the battery cell 32 becomes a predetermined value or higher (for example, 60 ° C. or higher) or the rising temperature ΔT becomes a predetermined value or higher (for example, 25 ° C. or higher). The end time of can be detected. In the case of a NiCd battery, it can be determined that charging has been completed when the voltage monotonously increases and then slightly decreases. Those skilled in the art can understand that the method of detecting the charging time of each battery is well known, and the point is that the charge controller 52 may adopt an optimum detecting method according to the type of the battery cell. See.

A-5. Application Example FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an application example of FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 3, the travel quick
Although only one charger 50 is inserted, those skilled in the art will understand that a plurality of chargers 50 can be connected in series. Therefore, the user can add more travel quick chargers according to the number of spare battery packs he or she needs.

B. Second Embodiment of the Present Invention Next, a second embodiment to which a battery pack having a different standard from the battery pack described in the section A can be applied will be described. In the following description, the second embodiment uses a so-called "Intelligent Battery", which is capable of measuring the remaining capacity of the battery and the like and notifying the end time of charging the battery to the outside. Please understand that.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic structure of an internal circuit of the travel quick charger 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, which is an AC / DC adapter 10, a PC main body 100, and a battery pack 30 'mounted therein. It shows with.

The battery pack 30 'is the PC main body 10
0 has the same configuration as that of the battery 30 incorporated therein, and has an electric resistance R ₁ and a differential for detecting an output current of the battery cell section 32, in addition to the battery cell section 32 for accumulating charges. An amplifier 34, a thermistor Th and an electric resistance R ₂ for detecting the internal temperature of the battery pack 30 ′, electric resistances R ₃ and R ₄ for detecting the output terminal voltage of the battery cell section 32, and a battery・ Cell part 32
Capacity controller ("Fu
(also referred to as “el Gauge”) 33 and a regulator circuit 35 for supplying a stabilized power supply to the capacitance controller 33. Each element (for detecting current, voltage and temperature of the battery cell section 32) ( Differential amplifier 3
4, the resistors R ₁ , R ₂ , R ₃ , and R ₄ ) are connected in substantially the same manner as the corresponding portions in FIG. The capacity controller 33 stabilizes the output terminal voltage of the battery cell section 32 by the regulator circuit 35 and puts it in the power supply terminal V _CC, and puts the negative terminal of the battery cell section 32 in the GND terminal. Further, the capacitance controller 33 includes an AD converter (not shown), digitizes the output of the differential amplifier 34, points Q and S, and takes them in as current data, voltage data and temperature data, respectively. Then, the capacity controller 33 detects the charging end time of the battery / cell unit 32 and outputs it in the same manner as the charging controller 52 of the first embodiment (for example, detailed description in the description of step S18 of A-4). The detection result is output from the terminal C as serial data.

The battery pack 30 'has four terminals 3
1a, 31b, 31c, 31d are output. Of these, 31a is a positive electrode side terminal, 31b is a negative electrode side terminal, 31d
Is a battery mounting detection terminal, which is substantially the same as that in the first embodiment. 31c is a terminal C of the capacitance controller 33
Is sent to the travel quick charger 50 side.

Travel quick according to the second embodiment.
The difference between the charger 50 and that of the first embodiment is that
This is that raw data such as current data, voltage data, and temperature data of the battery pack 30 'is not taken in, and the charging end time of the battery cell unit 32 is not detected by itself. The travel quick charger 50 of the present example controls the opening and closing of the switches SW1 and SW2 with the notification of the end of charging by the output C of the capacity controller 33 as a swallow.

PC 100 and AC / DC adapter 10
Is applicable to the second embodiment as long as it is the same as described in section A-3.

Travel quick according to the second embodiment.
The charging control operation by the charger 50 is shown in FIG.
It can be realized according to a flowchart similar to that shown in FIG. However, the determination of the charging end time in step S18 depends solely on the output C from the capacity controller 33 in the battery pack 30 ′.

Travel quick according to the second embodiment.
Those skilled in the art will understand that the charger 50 can also be used by being connected in series as shown in FIG. 7, as in the first embodiment.

The above-mentioned intelligent battery itself is already known and is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 05-184098 (our reference number JA9-93-032) assigned to the present applicant. There is. In addition, a notebook computer "ThinkPad 750" marketed by IBM Japan, Ltd. uses a similar intelligent battery.

C. Third Embodiment of the Present Invention Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.

C-1. Travel quick charger
Hardware configuration of FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of an internal circuit of the travel quick charger 50 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, which is AC /
The DC adapter 10, the PC 100, and the attached battery pack 30 'are shown. The main difference from the first and second embodiments is that the charge controller 52 is a PC
The supply current I and the drive voltage V to the 100 are taken out directly from the power line 61, and the power amount W (= V
The point is that the charging is controlled based on (I). Hereinafter, the difference will be mainly described.

On the power line 61, a weak electric resistance R ₈ for current detection is inserted in series, while SW1 is not inserted. Both ends of R ₈ are put into the input terminals on the inverting side and the non-inverting side of the differential amplifier 57, and the current I supplied to the PC 100 is converted into a voltage. The charge controller 52 is A
The differential amplifier 57 includes a D converter (not shown).
The analog output of is input to the input terminal AD5 and is digitized to be used as the data of the supply current I to the PC 100. Further, the charge controller 52 divides and inputs the drive voltage V of the PC 100 to the input terminal AD4 (similar to the first and second embodiments), and these AD4
Also, the power W supplied to the PC 100 (W may be considered to be equivalent to the power consumption of the PC 100) can be measured by the input data from AD5 and AD5. Then, the charge controller 52 uses the power consumption W (= V × I) of the PC 100.
If the value is high, S
Turn off W2. Conversely, if the power consumption W is sufficiently low, A
The surplus power of the C / DC adapter 10 is supplied to the battery pack 3
SW2 is turned on in order to be charged for 0 '. In short, the Travel Quick Charger 50 is the PC 10
Even when 0 is a normal operation state, the charging current can be supplied to the battery pack 30 ′ during a period when the operation rate is relatively low, such as waiting for input. Note that the point where the SW2 is turned off while the battery pack 30 'is not attached is the same as in the first and second embodiments.

On the other hand, the charge controller 52 is the PC 100.
Of the input terminal D _in and the output terminal D _out are not monitored. In other words, since the travel quick charger 50 does not need the control signal line 63, it simply passes through the AC / DC adapter 10.

The travel quick charger 50 according to the third embodiment can be applied to the PC 100 and the AC / DC adapter 10 as long as they are the same as those described in the section A-3.

However, when the AC / DC adapter 10 does not use the control signal 63, it is obvious that the power cords L and L ′ connecting the respective units 10, 50 and 100 do not need to include the control signal line 63. . Further, since the charging controller 52 does not monitor the operation mode of the PC 100, the PC
100 does not need to support the power saving function such as suspend.

Travel quick according to the third embodiment
Those skilled in the art will understand that the charger 50 can also be used by being connected in series as shown in FIG. 7, as in the first embodiment.

C-2. Travel quick charger
Next, the operation of the travel quick charger 50 according to the third embodiment will be described. In FIG. 10, C-
The charge control operation of the battery 30 'by the travel quick charger 50 described in Section 1 is shown in the form of a flow chart. The charge control operation is executed by the charge controller 52 according to a program incorporated therein. Each step will be described below.

First, in step S8, the switch SW2
Turn off. In order to prevent leakage from the terminal 31a,
The SW2 is off, which is the initial state of the travel quick charger 50.

Then, in step S10, travel /
The quick charger 50 determines whether or not the battery pack 30 'is mounted. This determination can be made by the charge controller 52 examining the input from the terminal BAT (described above). If the result of this determination block is affirmative, the process proceeds through branch Yes to the next step S12.
Proceed to. On the contrary, if the result is negative, the process returns to step S8 via branch No and waits until the situation changes.

Next, in step S12, the PC 100
It is determined whether the power supplied to the device is sufficiently low. This determination can be made by the charge controller 52 examining the input data from the terminals AD4 and AD5 (described above). If the result of this decision block is positive,
After branch Yes, the process proceeds to the next step S14. On the contrary, if the result is negative, the process returns to step S8 via branch No and waits until the situation changes.

Then, in step S14, AC / DC
The switch SW2 is turned on in order to apply the surplus power of the adapter 10 to charge the battery pack 30 '.

Then, in step S16, the battery
It is determined whether the charging of the pack 30 'can be continued. Here, in the case where charging is not possible, there are cases where the charging current flowing through the power line 61 ′ is not more than the allowable value, in addition to the fully charged state (that is, the charging is completed). Because the charging current is weak,
This is because the temperature does not rise even if charging progresses, and there is a risk that the charging end time may be erroneously detected. Otherwise,
Charging can be continued. This determination is performed by the charge controller 52 based on current data input from AD1, voltage data input from AD2, temperature data input from AD3, and the like. If the charging cannot be continued, the process proceeds to the next step 18 through the branch No. Further, if the charging can be continued, the SW2 is maintained in the ON state to continue the charging, and the process returns to step S10 to simultaneously check whether the states in the other determination blocks S10, S12, and S14 have changed. Monitor. Then, if there is a change in the result of each determination block (for example, the system 10
0 restarts the operation, or the battery pack 30 'is removed during charging), the process returns to step S8, SW2 is turned off, and charging is interrupted.

Step S18 corresponds to the termination process of the charge control operation. That is, the SW2 is turned off, and the series of processing flows is ended.

D. Addendum In the above embodiments, the present invention has been described in detail when the personal computer is applied as the electric / electronic device. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, various cordless devices such as a mobile phone, a cordless phone, a video camera and the like, an electric / electronic device that can be driven by a battery pack, such as a word processor. The present invention can also be applied to the above (it is obvious that those skilled in the art can modify or substitute the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention). In short, the present invention has been disclosed in the form of exemplification,
It should not be interpreted in a limited way. In order to determine the gist of the present invention, the section of the claims described at the beginning should be taken into consideration.

[0107]

As described in detail above, since the battery charger according to the present invention can be inserted in series between the power lines connecting the AC / DC adapter and the electric / electronic equipment, the wiring is not troublesome and is built-in. A secondary battery that supplements the battery can be naturally charged. Further, since the electric / electronic device is charged only while the power consumption is low, it does not affect the operation of the system. Also,
Since the battery charging device does not include a circuit for AC-DC conversion (for example, a coil for transformation, a rectifying / smoothing circuit, etc.), it is small and lightweight, and is suitable for portable use.
Further, if the secondary battery pack is carried around with the battery charger installed, it will not be bulky and the terminal portion of the battery will be covered and protected from the contact of foreign matter, so that the gap between the electrodes will be protected. It is possible to preferably prevent a short circuit accident.

At the hotel where the user is staying, the user can select AC / D
The power cord may be connected in series in the order of C adapter → travel quick charger → PC to use the PC. That way, the spare battery pack will be fully charged the next morning without any extra steps. Further, the next day, when the PC is used on the go without a commercial power source, both the built-in battery pack and the spare battery pack can be used. Also, 2
When carrying a secondary battery, if you carry it with the travel quick charger attached, you can cover the terminal part, so even if it gets disturbed in the bag and comes into contact with foreign objects, a power short-circuit accident will not occur. Since the travel quick charger is a small charging device that does not have an AC / DC conversion part, it should not be a burden on the user to carry it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a battery charging device according to a fifth aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a battery charger (travel quick charger) according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an internal circuit of a travel quick charger 50 according to a first embodiment of the present invention,
It is the figure shown with the AC / DC adapter 10, the PC main body 100, and the attached battery pack 30 '.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a computer 100 that can use the travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment in more detail than FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an AC / DC adapter 1 connectable to the travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment.
It is a figure showing the output (IV) characteristic of 0.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the charge control operation of the battery 30 ′ by the travel quick charger 50 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an application example of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of an internal circuit of a travel quick charger 50 according to a second embodiment of the present invention,
It is the figure shown with the AC / DC adapter 10, the PC main body 100, and the attached battery pack 30 '.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an internal circuit of a travel quick charger 50 according to a third embodiment of the present invention,
It is the figure shown with the AC / DC adapter 10, PC100, and the attached battery pack 30 '.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the charge control operation of the battery 30 ′ by the travel quick charger 50 according to the third embodiment.

11 (a) is a diagram showing an external configuration of a power supply system of a conventional electric / electronic device, and FIG. 11 (b) is a usage pattern of a conventional quick charging device with an AC / DC converter. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... AC / DC adapter, 11 ... connector, 20 ... D
C / DC converter, 30, 30 '... Battery pack, 31 ... Connector, 32 ... Battery cell section, 33 ...
Capacity controller, 34, 57 ... Differential amplifier, 35 ... Regulator, 40 ... System load, 50 ... Travel quick charger, 51 ... Connector, 52 ... Charge controller, 53 ... Regulator circuit, 54 ... Differential amplifier, 56, 64 ... Diode, 59a, b ... LED, 6
1, 61 ', 62 ... Power line, 63, 63' ... Control signal line, 71 ... Bus, 72 ... Main processor, 73 ... Main memory, 74 ... ROM, 75 ... DMA controller, 76 ... Interrupt controller, 77 ... Video controller, 78 ... VRAM, 79 ... LCD, 80 ... Audio controller, 81 ... Amplifier, 82 ... Speaker,
83 ... HDD, 84 ... FDC, 85 ... FDD, 86 ... I
/ O controller, 87 ... serial port, 88 ... parallel port, 89 ... power management processor, 90 ... keyboard, 91 ... mouse, 92 ... power switch, 93 ...
Lid, 94, 95 ... FET switch, 100 ... Personal computer (PC).

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI Technical indication location H02J 7/34 G06F 1/00 330F (72) Inventor Toshitsugu Mito 1623 Shimotsuruma, Yamato-shi, Kanagawa 14 Japan AI・ BM Corporation Yamato Office

Claims (17)

[Claims] 1. A battery charging device which can be connected in series on a power line connecting an external power source and an electric / electronic device, and monitors the electric power consumption state of the electric / electronic device and responds to the electric power consumption state. The battery charging device is characterized by controlling start / stop of charging of the battery. 2. A battery charging device in which an AC / DC adapter can be connected in series on a power line for supplying a driving current to an electric / electronic device, and monitors a power consumption state of the electric / electronic device. The battery charging device is characterized in that the charging of the battery is started or stopped according to the power consumption state. 3. A battery charger capable of being connected in series on a power line connecting an external power source and an electric / electronic device, the operating mode of the electric / electronic device being monitored, and the battery being charged according to the operating mode. A battery charger which controls start / stop of charging of the battery. 4. An AC / DC adapter, which is a battery charger capable of being connected in series on a power line for supplying a driving current to electric / electronic equipment, and which monitors an operation mode of the electric / electronic equipment. A battery charger, which starts or stops charging of a battery according to the operation mode. 5. The battery charger according to claim 3, wherein the electric / electronic device charges only in a low power consumption mode or in a power-off state. 6. A battery charging device, wherein an AC / DC adapter is connectable in series on a first power line for supplying a driving current to an electric / electronic device, and connects / disconnects the first power line. A first switch for connecting the second power line to a second power line connected in parallel to the first power line for supplying at least a part of the drive current to the battery as a charging current. A battery charging device comprising a second switch for disconnecting and a charge controller for controlling opening / closing operations of the first and second switches. 7. The electric / electronic device, wherein the charge controller monitors the power consumption state of the electric / electronic device and measures the remaining capacity of the battery from the detected values such as the voltage, current and temperature of the battery, Power consumption is high or the battery is fully charged (or close to full charge)
In the case of, the first switch is connected and the second switch is disconnected, and when the electric power consumption of the electric / electronic device is low and the battery is not fully charged, the first switch is disconnected and the second switch is connected. The battery charger according to claim 6, wherein the switch is connected. 8. The charging controller monitors the operation mode of the electric / electronic device and measures the remaining capacity of the battery from the detected values of voltage, current, temperature, etc. of the battery, and the electric / electronic device In the normal operation mode or when the battery is in a fully charged state (or a state close to a fully charged state), the first switch is connected and the second switch is disconnected, and
The battery according to claim 6, wherein the first switch is disconnected and the second switch is connected when the electronic device is in the low power consumption mode or the power is off and the battery is not fully charged. Charging device. 9. The charge controller monitors the operation mode of the electric / electronic device and measures the remaining capacity of the battery from detected values such as voltage, current and temperature of the battery, and the electric / electronic device is controlled by the charge controller. In the normal operation mode, when the battery built in the electric / electronic device is being charged, or when the battery is in a fully charged state (or a state close to a fully charged state), the first switch is connected and Disconnecting the second switch, disconnecting the first switch and connecting the second switch when the electric / electronic device is in the low power consumption mode or in the power off state and the battery is not fully charged; The battery charger according to claim 6, wherein the battery charger is a battery charger. 10. A battery charging device in which an AC / DC adapter is connectable in series on a first power line for supplying a driving current to an electric / electronic device, and the AC / DC adapter is connected in parallel to the first power line. A second power line connected to supply at least a part of the drive current to the battery; a switch for connecting / disconnecting the second power line;
Current / voltage on the power line of and the current / voltage of the battery
A battery charging device, comprising: a charge controller for controlling the opening / closing operation of the switch by monitoring temperature and the like. 11. The charging controller is configured such that a current on the second power line is lower than a minimum allowable charging current of a battery or electric power supplied from the first power line is the electric power.
Disconnect the switch during periods when the power is below the level required for the operation of electronic devices or when the battery is fully charged (or close to full charge), and connect the switches only during other periods. The battery charging device according to claim 10, wherein: 12. The battery charging device according to claim 1, wherein only a part of the battery including the terminal portion is covered. 13. A circuit for converting an AC voltage into a DC voltage is not included, and is detachably connected to an AC / DC adapter and an electric / electronic device. 11. The battery charger according to any one of 11. 14. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for detecting presence / absence of a battery, wherein power supply to the battery is always stopped while the battery is not installed.
The battery charger according to any one of 2, 3, and 4. 15. The battery according to claim 6, further comprising means for detecting whether or not a battery is attached, wherein the charge controller always disconnects the second switch while the battery is not attached. Charging device. 16. The battery charging device according to claim 10, further comprising means for detecting whether or not a battery is installed, wherein the charging controller always disconnects the switch while the battery is not installed. 17. The battery charger according to claim 1, which does not include a circuit for converting an AC voltage into a DC voltage.